Tag: sacrifice

You missed the start of Lent and now you are wondering if it’s too late to start. You might be thinking, “What’s the point?” Maybe you’ve talked yourself into believing it doesn’t matter that much or that no one will notice. Maybe you’ve rationalized and think you have a valid excuse for skipping Lent. After […]

What are your plans for Valentine’s Ash Wednesday? Sex and Death The combination was bound to happen eventually; it will happen again in 2024 and 2029, then not again until the 22nd century. Most people I know personally or through social media have taken it fairly well. One person did wonder if, since some bishops […]

Having only been a parent for four years now gives me a relatively limited view of parenthood. On top of that, I am part of one of the least religious generations in history- millennials. I don’t think, however, that my perspective is valueless because of my age or experience. My wife and I strive to […]

“Happy is he who does not have sadness in his mind, and who has not fallen away from his hope.” -Sirach 14:2 Finding Hope in Christ Lent is a time of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving toward others. It is a time of sacrifice and charity. It is a time of getting to know Jesus even […]

Have you ever noticed the trend in today’s society to give everyone who participates in something, no matter how trivial their contribution, some sort of “award” for their participation? Even the worst players on the Little League team get something shiny to hang in their rooms for bothering to show up to the game. Maybe unimportant, […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was published on Catholic Stand on December 25, 2015. We are republishing here for your holiday enjoyment, since the message is inspiring and relevant.] Christmas has always been a time to celebrate with the ones we love. Each year, many anticipate reuniting with family members and friends and look forward to […]

Calling on God for Help in Dealing with Others Improving our relationships with others is a work that continues throughout our lives. From the time we are born until the day we die, we deal with other humans. There are many psychological, biological, spiritual and social factors that enter into who we are as men […]

Fall, A Time of Change The beginning of the school year is upon us. Families, children, teens, young adults and working adults are in full swing with a new fall schedule. Fall is a time when our lives become different with new changes in schedules and in the weather. It is a beautiful time of […]

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) spoke about attending to the needs of our neighbor: “On the question of relating to our fellowman – our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.” Being Attentive […]

There is so much to be said about the Eucharist. It is Christ’s supreme gift of Himself to mankind. We can never truly thank God enough for this new Passover meal, which replaces an ordinary sacrificed lamb with The Lamb of God, Jesus Himself. It is the true food that replaces the forbidden fruit. What […]

A Time of Reflection for All We are now in the liturgical season of Lent. This is a time of reflection and a time of change. It’s a time of prayer and a time of sacrifice for God and for others. For those who do not celebrate faith or perhaps even have any faith at all, […]

The Holy Mass is the re-presentation of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, in a real liturgical manner. At the Last Supper (also known as the First Eucharist), Jesus created the Mass for each one of us to be present at His great sacrifice, even through time and space. The word “Mass” comes to us from the […]

It’s coming up on that time of year again: the time that our whole Church calendar centers upon – Lent and Easter. As Christians and as Catholics, we are taught throughout our lives the three things we are supposed to practice during Lent to bring us closer to Christ: pray, fast, and give. I always […]

Grandmothers and Mercy January is a time that reminds me of my deceased Grandmother. She passed away over 20 years ago on January 31. It is this time of year where I live with the Pennsylvania chill in the air that reminds me of her passing. I think many of us have fond memories of those people […]

Discernment is a process that every serious Catholic man must commence at some point, during which he will petition and receive from the Almighty his vocational direction and calling for the rest of his life and for all eternity. Fittingly, discernment is one of the most difficult undertakings of a man’s life! I […]

There are not too many things in life that are certain, as the saying goes, except for death and taxes. But in addition to those two things, I would like to add one more that I have discovered over the years. That one certain thing that we all must do is to praise and thank […]

I hate the Sunday mornings when I am in such a bad mood as we leave the house until it has me questioning why we are even going to church in the first place. Our morning starts off good enough, but then Leo gets into the cereal, spreading it all over the kitchen, while another one won’t […]

As you read this, I am in Cincinnati on a mission trip with our parish youth group. Each year we travel somewhere to help spread God’s Gospel through our words and actions. We strive to put what we teach into meaningful experiences both for our teens and for those we help. This year we are working […]

In sharing what seemed like a simple, informative item about Seder, I was met with much confusion and a charge of Anti-Semitism. It all began when I posted this audio on Facebook last night. With it, I quoted a priest friend: “The ONLY ‘Seder” that celebrates the divinity of Christ is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which is the New Covenant Seder […]

We know that Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each year, I try to find creative ways to make Lent a memorable one. It is more than just giving up something you will simply return to at the end of 40 days. During this time, we are called to grow deeper in […]

It’s hard to write humor these days. You come up with an idea for a list of funny things to give up for Lent, and some third grader beats you to it. And not just one, but three. The first thing I thought of was vegetables. I was still thinking about it when I stopped […]

It has been years since I first felt God quietly calling me. At first I couldn’t understand what He was asking me to do. As time passed I began to hear Him louder. My heart could feel Him tugging and before long there was no way I could deny what He was asking of me. I fought Him tooth […]

If you want to win friends and influence people, don’t mention the cross. It is an unlikely enticement to attract us to someone, and yet, it is precisely what Jesus Christ offered us. “If anyone wishes to come after me must deny himself” (Luke 9:23). Although the prospect of self-denial and suffering is repellent, the […]

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It’s no secret that young people are abandoning the church. The reasons behind the rebellion and abandonment are complex. No one seems to have a full understanding of the reasoning behind the millennial generation’s denial of the Catholic Church and their subsequent association as “Nones.” As a young person from the millennial generation, even I […]

Philip Lawler is the editor of Catholic World News and is one of America’s most incisive Catholic journalists and commentators. A graduate of Harvard College he has served as editor of Crisis magazine, the Boston Pilot, and Catholic World Report. He is the author or editor of ten books on political and religious topics. His essays, […]

There is a strand in American Christianity that is often called “me and Jesus” Christianity. To have Jesus, you don’t need the Church. You’ll most often find it in Protestantism, but it has also seeped its way into the Catholic Church. If you have ever heard anybody say that they love Jesus but hate the […]

Some Catholic authors write as if they belong to a Church Beleaguered, not the Church Triumphant. Articles tend to be either defensive or angry attacks against adversaries. Many religious writers retreat, focusing only on like-minded souls, writing for a small, mutual admiration society. The rest are tempted to quit when it seems like the world is wearing […]

“We are an Easter people, and ‘Alleluia’ is our song!” Saint John Paul II spoke this phrase at least twice: once, during an address at a black parish in Harlem in 1979, and again before leading the congregation in the Angelus at a Mass in Adelaide, Australia, in 1986. The Pope was paraphrasing a quote […]

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About Us

CATHOLIC STAND is an e-publication presenting essays and creative non-fiction, offering substantive resources with thoughtful insights into how to live the Truth that the Church teaches, owned by Little Vatican Media.